Talk Like a Pirate Day is is an international phenomenon where people around the globe talk like a pirate every year on September 19th. The day was created by long time friends John Baur and Mark Summers in the summer of 1995, specifically June 6th. After a game of racquetball in which they randomly spoke using pirate vernacular, they decided that the world as a whole could use an International Talk Like A Pirate Day. June 6th is the World War II D-Day Anniversary so celebrating on that day was out of the question. Mark then suggested September 19th because that was his ex-wife's birthday and that was the only date he could think of that wasn't occupied by another holiday, such as July 4th or December 25th.

The first several years of Talk Like a Pirate Day were celebrated by only John, Mark and some of their friends and family. The explosion of popularity didn't happen until years later when the Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Dave Barry wrote an article about the special day in 2002. With that one single article, Dave was able to bring more attention to the "holiday" than John and Mark could have ever dreamed about. Since then, the event has been widly accepted by people of all ages and backgrounds across the world. Radio stations across the world, including NPR (National Public Radio), promote the event. College students throw pirate parties in order to celebrate the day. Even pirate pub crawls have begun to appear.

The whole thought behind Talk Like A Pirate Day is extremely simple. It acts as a friendly reminder of how fun talking like a pirate can be. And with it comes a much needed break from the day-to-day seriouness that often results in stressed out minds and boiling tempers. In you are interested in joing in on the fun, some basic pirate slang to use includes:

Ahoy! - meaning "Hello!" or to get one's attention

Arrrr! - an exclamation, often meaning "yes" or "I agree."

Aye - a term used in affirmation

Beauty - pirate for "woman"

Black Spot - a blark mark on a piece of paper that usually comes with a written message that contains a death threat

Blimey! - an exclamation when surprised

Blow The Man Down - to kill somebody

Davey Jones' Locker - a term used to describe an imaginary place at the bottom of the ocean, often meaning death.

Grog - an alcoholic beverage

Hang The Jib - to frown or act sad

Hornswaggle - to cheat

Loaded To The GUnwalls - to be drunk

Lubber - slang for a "land lover"

Marooned - stranded

Me - used in place of "my"

Pillage - to forcefully rob one of goods/plunder

Run A Rig - to play a trick on somebody

Sink Me! - an expression used when surprised

Smartly - meaning "quickly" or "abruptly"

Quiffy - somewhat drunk

Ye - used in place of "you"

If you have any additional pirate words, or have participated in Talk Like A Pirate Day before, we would love to hear about it in the comments section below!